Hip-hop concert planned to follow lecture at Emporia State

September 20, 2011

The 2011 Bonner & Bonner Diversity Lecture at Emporia State University is turning into much more than a one-hour talk with a nationally known speaker. ESU students have worked to create a hip-hop concert after the lecture on Wednesday, Sept. 28.

Jeff Chang, the 2011 Bonner lecturer, plans to talk about “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation.” Chang’s talk will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 28 in Albert Taylor Hall, which is on the first floor of Plumb Hall on the ESU campus.

Immediately following Chang’s talk, at about 8 p.m., copies of Chang’s books will be available for sale in the Plumb Hall Rotunda and Chang will be available to sign them. Besides “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” Chang has written “Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop.”

At approximately 8:30 p.m. Sept. 28, a hip-hop concert will begin with ESU student and local DJ Chad Carson as the opening act. The concert will be on the Kellogg Circle lawn, directly in front of Plumb Hall.

Following Carson on stage will be Topeka-based band, DreamKillerUniversity.“When Topeka’s DreamKillerUniversity take the stage, they aren’t a typical hip-hop/rap group,” wrote a reporter in The Bulletin, ESU’s student newspaper, before an Emporia concert in January.

“‘You could call it rap if it was 1997, because that was rap, everybody came out differently, nowadays it’s reminiscent of another time when everybody could consume the music,’ said Anthemous, MC and music producer for the group” in the article.

The group’s online bio describes DreamKillerUniversity this way: “The group has so much energy and stage presence that it's no wonder the group has acquired such a loyal fan base! Because of their diverse music background, DKU has been able to infuse Rock, Hip-Hop, Punk, R&B, Metal, Reggae, Pop, Soul, and Funk into their music! This is not what you are used to, DKU blows peoples mind’s away!”

Both the Bonner lecture and concert are free, but seating at the lecture is reserved. For tickets to the lecture, call the ESU ticket office at (620) 341-6378 or toll-free at 1-877-341-6378.

On Thursday morning, the day after his lecture, Chang, described as a radical historian, hip-hop journalist and expert on multiculturalism, will speak to a creative writing class on campus.